Postion Paper

Running head: POSITION PAPER

Position Paper

Caitlin Kenefick

American International College

Nursing Trends and Issues: NUR. 325

Professor Burns

April 16, 2008

All American citizens have the right to health care and a national health care insurance program should be provided to assure basic health care.

Introduction

This paper addresses the continued argument over health care in the United States. At its root, the lack of health care for all Americans is a moral issue. The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not have a form of universal health care. While other countries have declared health care to be a basic right, the United States treats health care as a privilege, only available to those who can afford it. In the case of health care in the United States it is treated as an economic good, such as a TV or VCR, not as a public or social good.

A larger problem now not seen in previous years was the poor were often the individuals uninsured, now with the skyrocketing costs of health care the middle classes are also worried about coverage. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), growth in health care spending in the United States is projected to be 6.7 percent in 2007, and expected to remain near that rate through 2017. Annual growth in health spending is anticipated to be higher than annual growth in both the overall economy and in general inflation. By the end of 2017 it was projected that the United States would spend just over $4.3 trillion and comprises 19.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is more than any other nation. It is this author’s opinion that all American citizens have a right to national health care coverage.

In reference to the statement “All American citizens”, that does not include the estimated 8-12 million illegal or noncitizens living within the United States. It refers to the individuals that are born within the United States which confers citizenship under the fourteenth amendment or were born overseas to American parents, or those who have gone through the proper legal channels to become American citizens. The term “right” as stated in the Declaration of Independence, there are inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So in the Declaration of Independence, American’s have the right to “life”, it could be concluded that the founding fathers meant a healthy one. “National Health Care Insurance Program”, can be understood as Government or State run, or in other countries with Universal Health Care, Socialized Heath Care. This type of health care is government funded, but the government is not involved in health care delivery. “Basic Health Care”, is defined in this paper as access to primary and acute care.

The major problem with health care reform comes down to an issue of finances. Whenever this issue of Universal Health Care is approached it comes down to a question of money. “How much government, business, and the individual are willing to pay, who should bear the costs and how health care costs can be controlled”(Hoffman & Roland, 2007, p.75). As much as we as a country believe that the government should guarantee health care to all it’s citizens, Hoffman & Roland (2007) state that greater than 50% are unwilling to bear greater premiums or the taxes cost to achieve it.

With the increasing costs of health care it is forcing American’s to seek care elsewhere, frequently we see American’s looking to Mexico and Canada to offset the costs of prescription drugs, which are available in the United States for a considerably higher cost. The act of obtaining medications outside the United States is a dangerous one, because there is no FDA to regulate the medication which leads to safety, efficacy and allergy concerns. Government officials have their hands in the pockets of these drug companies; many of them make major contributions to their campaigns.

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